Can someone reccomend a good media player with codecs?

shatner3 · Post by **shatner3** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 11:14 am

Hey, there are a ton of different video codecs out there and it'd be really nice if someone could reccomend a media player that is able to play almost all of them. Switch media players everytime you switch movies gets annoying

Right now i'm using BS Player, it comes with a huge codec pack. Its not the best program out there but i'm hoping there is some better looking programs atleast. The only thing BS Player has a little trouble with is WMV's.

Anyway, could someone suggest a FREE media player that also comes with a big codec pack, or has a lot of codecs built in?

What programs do you guys use?

THanks

Zarxrax · Post by **Zarxrax** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 11:28 am

All you really need is FFDShow and media player classic.

Org Profile · Post by **LantisEscudo** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 11:31 am

I've been using Media Player Classic and ffdshow for a long time on my Windows machine, and have had almost no problems with that pairing.

I've heard other people recommend mPlayer and VLC (which I use on my Mac), but I like MPC better.

Zaphod_Beeblebrox · Post by **Zaphod_Beeblebrox** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:08 pm

i'm using ffdshow and mediaplayer10 and i have yet to come across a file i can't play, does the actual player really matter if you have the right codecs? or am i just stupid? (rhetorical question, please don't answer the second part...)

jbone · Post by **jbone** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 10:40 pm

The player does not matter, only the installed codecs matter - EXCEPT with QuickTime or RealMedia. For both of these formats, it is difficult or impossible to find a codec independent of the format's associated player.

quadir · Post by **quadir** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 8:40 am

I've had trouble before playing some Xvid files using ffdshow. Infact, it's happened several times, since I had to get latest builds. Same with DivX 5. For that reason I now install:

Media Player Classic (doesnt come with codecs)
DivX Free 5 (Some people recommend 4)
XviD Koepi's (uncheck handle 4 cc's)
Quicktime / RealPlayer Alternative Codec Only (don't come with the players, sorry, no link)
Ogg Directshow, VobSub (for some subtitles)
[rul=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/window ... nload.aspx]Windows Media Player 9 Codecs[/url]

That covers everything you need. With no conflicts, no problems. Then again, a lot of people never have trouble with ffdshow... so try that first for sure. Baring that, the above is a nice setup.

SS5_Majin_Bebi · Post by **SS5_Majin_Bebi** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 9:41 am

quadir wrote:I've had trouble before playing some Xvid files using ffdshow. Infact, it's happened several times, since I had to get latest builds. Same with DivX 5. For that reason I now install:

Media Player Classic (doesnt come with codecs)
DivX Free 5 (Some people recommend 4)
XviD Koepi's (uncheck handle 4 cc's)
Quicktime / RealPlayer Alternative Codec Only (don't come with the players, sorry, no link)
Ogg Directshow, VobSub (for some subtitles)
[rul=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/window ... nload.aspx]Windows Media Player 9 Codecs[/url]

That covers everything you need. With no conflicts, no problems. Then again, a lot of people never have trouble with ffdshow... so try that first for sure. Baring that, the above is a nice setup.

Hmm... you may have been having problems because you just installed over old versions. It was doin that to me as well. I say the problem is more likely the codecs themselves - XviD, like the newer builds, can cause all kinds of hassles if you don't uninstall the older ones. ffdshow shouldn't have any decoding hassles if you get the latest build and set it up correctly.

Zaphod_Beeblebrox · Post by **Zaphod_Beeblebrox** » Fri Nov 05, 2004 6:15 am

jbone wrote:The player does not matter, only the installed codecs matter - EXCEPT with QuickTime or RealMedia. For both of these formats, it is difficult or impossible to find a codec independent of the format's associated player.

true, but everybody knows quicktime and realmedia suck anyway so it shouldn't matter...